FARMINGTON, CT. -- As my husband and I drove into this quaint community a sense of belonging came over me. This is a town that grabs your heartstrings and quietens your soul. This is the epitome of early hometown America if there ever was one.
I'm no Connecticut Yankee, but I knew then and there that I wanted to know more about this charming, historic bedroom community of rolling hills and bountiful forests near Hartford. I wanted to be swallowed up by its history, eveloped by its neatness, thrilled by its role as a vital cog on the Underground Railroad.
After we checked in at the Farmington Inn, a well-appointed hotel conveniently located in the center of town, we dined at the Pettibone Tavern, built in 1780.
The inn served as the first stagecoach stop outside of Hartford on the Boston-to-Albany Turnpike. One could practically hear the horses clomping to a halt outside the front door.
The inn was burned by Indians in 1800 and rebuilt in 1803. The tavern was involved in smuggling runaway black slaves via a secret tunnel in the basement where we saw the charred oak support timbers from the original building.
I had a lobster bisque to die for and pan-seared scallops.
The following morning we visited Hill Stead Museum, one of many interesting historical points in the area. This 33,000 square-foot, 36-room colonial revival mansion is well worth the admission fee. Period furnishings, paintings, oriental ceramic and a sunken garden all giving way to a an aura of 19th Century gentility.
Moving on, we visited the Stanley-Whitman House, a New England colonial clapboard built in the early 1700s. Restoration began in 1980. The tour is a "please touch" educational and delightful visit, allowing children and adults to handle reproductions, objects, open hearth cooking and even learning such things as hands-on planting of corn.
This seems to be a much more sensible approach to learning history. I suspect a great deal of history is learned and remembered and is a lot more fun than reading from books. A great way to obtain better knowledge of the simplicity of life in the 1700s.
I suppose there are still a few of us out there that have never heard of Miss Porter's school: a very elite day or boarding school founded in 1843 by Sara Porter, an educator and sister of a Yale University president. Jackie Bouvier Kennedy was a graduate. At present the enrollment is 320 students.
A few miles away is Avon Old Farms School for Boys, an equally elite school founded in 1927 by Theodate Pope Riddle, one of America's first female architects. The buildings are modeled after a 16th Century English village. Enrollment is about 370 young men, grades 9-12.
It soon became apparent Farmington is a town proud of its history; a close-knit town with a sense of community awareness of the arts and creativity.
Trim lawns, painted fences and houses, clean streets and quaint shops. A New England postcard nearly everywhere you looked.
The Farmington Valley Arts Center (FVAC) is a fine example of community involvement in the arts. There are about 20 resident studio artists creating and selling their works individually, as well as two galleries.
The FVAC offers adult and children classes of all levels and a two-week summer art camp. Visitors can wander through the studios observing artists, weavers, sculptors and potters. I had a strong desire to sit at the potters wheel and make a bowl or something after talking with a potter and sensing the pleasure she gets from creating.
There is enough history, charm and romance to keep us here longer than we have time for, so we pressed on to cram in as much as we could.
Next was a visit to the First Company Governor's Horse Guards organized in 1778 and becaming an official chartered calvary unit in 1788 as the Governor's Bodyguard. The unit has escorted many prominent visitors such as George Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, and Presidents James Monroe and Andrew Jackson. In 1911 it became a National Guard unit.
Every Thursday night there are military drills and volunteers devote many hours tending to the horses, stalls and tack. They enjoy sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience with visitors. I was told the horses are donated and they rely a great deal on donations.
The guards are part of the state's organized militia training for crowd control and search and rescue missions.
A canoe trip down a lazy section of the Farmington River was a nice change of pace as well as a visit to the Canton Barn Antiques Auction that served great homemade pies. The auction is unique in that everything is auctioned off each night (if anything is left it is given away to anyone who wants it).
The following two nights we stayed at the Centennial Inn Suites, a large complex of all-suites buildings spread over several acres. A great location and fine facilities.
Our next stop was Old Gate Prison and Copper Mine in East Granby, a short trip from Farmington. The mine was first worked in 1707 and by 1773 closed and subsequently used as a prison for robbers and thieves. Later on it housed Tories and prisoners of war, and even later, captured British soldiers. New Gate was abandoned in 1827 and now offers tours to visitors.
Lunch at the Grist Mill Restaurant is not to be missed. A superb menu and pleasant view of the Farmington River while dining. The culinary delight of our trip and is a must while visiting Farmington.
Ken and I agreed a return trip to Farmington was a must. The fall color season was (unfortunately) running late and we did not get to see nature's paintbrush in action. Also, there is so much to see and do here it cannot be given justice in only 3-4 days. This is a land that beckons for our return . . and so it shall be.

On the Internet:
WWW.farmingtonvalleyvisit.com
WWW.farmington-ct.org.

This story was published on 05 Nov 2002.